Where did time go?

Has it really been since the end of August that I last wrote?  Wow...and oops!  Things got pretty busy with my classes and football and other stuff, so forgive my absence.  Let's update!

Mom:  She had surgery on September 17, at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis to remove her lower right lobe of her lung.  Thank goodness the cancer was completely contained there, so Dr. Patterson was able to just remove that part, and off we go.  There was worry that her lymph nodes might have been involved, but the pathology report showed that they were clear.  We were so very, very lucky.  She is doing well now and still recovering and getting stronger. 

As for me and my surgery, I hit a little bump in the road and we're going to push surgery back until March.  It was disappointing, but also a relief.  Trying to get the last few things done in time was really getting stressful.  I was also worried about potential winter storms that may cause us problems.  Mike was worried about being able to get time off work to be with me while I was in the hospital.  My work wasn't working out to be quite as smooth for me to be gone at that time either.  It seemed like the universe was trying to tell me something.  So I listened. 

It has to wait until March because I cannot be gone from work during January or February, otherwise I might be able to have it done sooner.  I had a great talk with my nutritionist about it today, and she was a great sounding board in helping me to decide.  She feels like there are a couple of things I still need to work on with my nutrition to be sure I can rock it after surgery.  She was willing to try to squeeze me in and work on this stuff ASAP, but now we don't have to.  Sadly, she will no longer be seeing patients after December 1, so I'll have a new nutritionist when I go back in December.  I will miss Micca like crazy because I loved working with her!

In other news, I've finished my two grad classes for this semester and am free until January.  I'm now (hopefully) just 1 year away from being finished with my master's degree.  Once I finish this, I think I want to take some classes in the dietetics area.  I'd like to learn more about nutrition just for fun.  I'm weird like that.  Mike isn't thrilled with that idea, but what else will I do with my free time?  What do you all do if you don't have homework??  I'm still getting used to that feeling.  Once I do, it will be time for classes to start again. 

Dearest reader, I apologize for leaving you for so long.  I'll try not to do that again.  If you have some suggestions for things you'd like me to write about, please leave a comment and let me know. 

Until next time...

Progress!

I have now attended my mandatory nutrition classes and met with the nutritionist.  I learned quite a bit at the nutrition classes, and there was a lot I already knew.  I've tried to make the changes suggested and some are going well, and some I'm still struggling with.  They want us to fill half the plate with non-starchy veggies, 1/4 of the plate with protein, and the other 1/4 with whole grains or starches.  I'm not a big veggie fan.  I've been eating a LOT of salads. 

The nutritionist and I talked about my BMI and she is working with me to keep me at the 40 limit.  I've gained enough now that I shouldn't have any problems staying in the 40s until October (my 6 month time limit).  I will see her every month until surgery, I believe.

Today I met with the medical person again.  Apparently the last time I was supposed to get orders for a whole slew of tests...but somehow they were not given to me nor were they discussed.  So now I have those orders and will need to get those done soon.  I will see her again in a month.

I also met with the physical therapy lady to talk about exercise.  She's quite pleased with where I am on that, so she said she could clear me for surgery right now.  I don't need to see her until after surgery.  She wants me to keep doing what I'm doing until I start the pre-surgery liquid diet.  At that point I will need to back way off because I won't be taking in enough calories to sustain that kind of activity.  She said I should be back at the level I'm at within about 3-6 months after surgery. 

I've also finished my grad class on Image Design and got an A.  It was pretty tough and stressful, but I made it!  I'm now just a smidge over half-way through my master's degree.  It's going quite fast, which is awesome!

Until next time...